ODST received
mixed reviews from both critics and gamers alike and many noted that
the “Halo” factor was missing. Halo Reach
on the other hand is more than just a cash-in for Microsoft. Rather, Bungie has created an intuitive and enjoyable piece of the
mythology to the series which is set well before the climatic battle between the
humans and the Convenient. In this game, there is no “halo” world to
journey to or apocalyptic battles on Earth, no my friends, this is
where it all started, this is the prequel to the game that started
it all.

There is a slight
problem though... apart from the
lush graphics, the refined gameplay and immersion factor, one thing
alienates new comers to this universe… the story. Thankfully I have
played all the Halo games, however the story is a little lacking and
from the get go, you are thrown into the deep end of the Halo
universe as you attempt to save Reach from not just the Convenient
but also some pesky terrorists which threaten the very fabric of
order on this world. In a way, by being thrown into the deep end, it
does help create a majestic experience and because you feel so small
at the start, as you progress, pieces of the story comes together
and this is where things begin to heat up. Even though fans of this
series know how this story will eventuate, in the back of your mind,
you believe your actions will prove otherwise and without spoiling
things, it’s very interesting to see how the story pan out and
conclude at the end of the Halo Reach.

The beginning

The first thing
that you notice about Halo Reach is the amazing graphics from the
detailed characters to the interactive 3D world from foliage to
clouds and some amazing weather effects. But before jumping into
this 3D world, you first need to create your character that includes
gender, appearance and a variety of other tweaks. The customisation
options allow you to create
your character as opposed to a generic soldier or Spartan...
in this game you're know Master Chef... in this game you can be
whoever you want to be. The cool thing about customising your
character is that they actually appear in the cinematics as well.
From the main menu, you can also access the XBox Live features from statistics to
friends and more importantly, online gaming. Thankfully Halo Reach
contains a very good campaign mode so we’ll get to the multiplayer a
little later on.

The Campaign

The campaign mode
can either be played solo or cooperative with up to four players and
in the game itself (solo), you make up a new member of the Noble team. As “number
6” in the Noble team, you were sent to investigate a distress signal
that they thought was caused by some insurgents but upon further
investigation, it appears that the Covenant are leading a full blown
invasion against this outer sector planet. The story is oozing with
classic Halo anecdotes that thankfully only enhances the entire
gaming experience. It's also cool that the story also goes into some
detail with all your team member and not once did I find myself
bored with the story.

Having finished the
campaign made in single-player, I must admit that the AI of your colleagues is
rather impressive and at times, they actually do assist in how
battles play out. Then again, when I played this in cooperative, we
were an almost unstoppable team and this is where we had to increase
the difficulty but on both counts, the game compliments the player
or players well. Another cool aspect of the world that you play is
that it is quite interactive from animals running around to
civilians which adds to the overall strategy of your character. To
spice things up even more, there is even space and air combat that
nicely breaks up the FPS experience. In turn, the controls are well
mapped on the controller and the first level acts as a mini-tutorial
in order to fine tune the controls and teach newcomers the basics.

However, as we attempted to repel these alien invaders, the
locations started to become quite diverse as were the missions that
ranged from escorts to mano-o-mano… err alien battles. With a
healthy dose of weapons to be found along the way, including Covenant weapons and
vehicles, I suddenly understood what Bungie had done. In essence,
they had taken the player back to the original game from its
excitement as you ventured into the unknown. It was a drive back
down memories and speak of vehicles, they continue to be
a highlight in the Halo universe and each vehicle handled quite well, especially
for a first person shooter. As this was the last hurrah for the Halo
universe (allegedly anyway), the developers even thank all the fans
of the Halo games at the end of the title which is a nice nod of the
hat to all the players in the world.

Multiplayer

With lots of
multiplayer options from team matches to traditional death makes and
the like, Halo Reach is the penultimate multiplayer experience on
the XBox 360 and hopefully one day, we can see an entire online Halo
game... one can dream can't they? With lots of interesting maps and
gameplay modes, playing online offers a whole wealth of new
experiences for the player.

You are also
awarded credits in both the online and offline modes which can then
be used to purchase additional “mods” to your Spartan’s armour in
order to further customise your look and is a nice little reward
system. You even get commendations and the like which are like
trophies to be displayed to your XBox Live section and more
incentive to do better. The excellent
Forge customisation returns in Halo Reach as well as you can quite
easily use this function of Halo to create your own maps and goals
for player customisable maps. Once again, Halo Reach has quite
a bit of replay value from online play, co-op campaign modes and
creation of maps which will in our opinion easily cement this as the
best Halo game since the original.

Graphics and
Sound

Graphically, as
mentioned in this review (quite a few times), it’s a very good
looking game and really maximises the power of the XBox 360. From
the first few moments, you immediately know that you are in for a
treat and whether it’s the small touches or the bigger picture, it
create a perfect world that is easily the best ever on this console.
The weather effects are quite realistic as well and all the characters move
with this human-like grace that makes becoming absorbed into this
game a powerful experience. There were a few graphical glitches here
and there but overall, the Q&A got it right the first time. To
compliment the graphics, Halo Reach contains a great orchestral
soundtrack that changes with the locales and story. The voice acting
is considerably toned down from ODST and is more realistic. The only
thing I suggest for you do while playing this game is to pump up the
volume on your surround sound to hear the meaty sounds of your guns
or the lasers whiz pass your head, very cool indeed. Just like the
sound of the new concussion rifle!

Conclusion

If you’re a fan of the Halo series and
were a little disappointed with ODST and a little apprehensive in
purchasing this title, don’t be. Bungie have redeemed themselves by
not only creating an engaging and coercive story but have brought
the game back to its roots and tweaked the gameplay, both offline
and online to make this the definitive game of the series. Great
graphics, a Hollywood action movie soundtrack, Halo Reach is the
must have game for first person shooter fans and if you have never
played the Halo series, what better jumping point is this. The
Nobles have arrived!